HARDIN-JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL GENERAL WORLD WIDE WEB POLICY

2/24/2009

Hardin-Jefferson recognizes the value and potential of utilizing the Internet and hence allows and encourages students and staff to use the district's Internet resources and network within established guidelines. Contents of all electronic pages must be consistent with Hardin-Jefferson School District policies and local, state and federal laws. This includes links to other pages or computers; therefore, a page may be considered in violation if it contains links that violate the policy.

All unit Web sites must comply with district standards as established herein by the Web Advisory Committee. Questions about content or utilization should be directed to the Committee or the School Web Monitor. Copyright laws apply to electronic publishing as well as print publishing. Electronic publications are subject to the same district policies and standards as print publications. All Web authors publishing to pages or sites housed on Hardin-Jefferson ISD Web servers are required to be familiar with and abide by the standards and policies herein.

Hardin-Jefferson resources may not be used to create Web pages for personal gain, except as permitted by School or District policies. Personal pages that provide information about individuals are allowed (see class V below).

Overview

Hardin-Jefferson, through its connection to the Internet computer network, provides staff and students with access to the World Wide Web (WWW). Throughout the WWW, information is made available through online documents called "pages." An organized group of pages is referred to as a Web site, and the base page (similar to a table of contents) is commonly known as the "home page." Pages are stored and maintained on network-connected computers called Web servers.

The World Wide Web is a powerful tool used to present information in a convenient and dynamic format to users of the Internet. Recognizing the scope of the WWW and its impact on the School, the Principal shall appoint a Web Advisory Committee. The Committee shall meet at least once each semester and set policies for all Hardin-Jefferson Web sites. The School Web Monitor works under the direction of the Web Advisory Committee to insure that district sites comply with these standards.

The www.hjisd.net Web site is the Schools public site, providing information for groups such as prospective students, parents and alumni.

For purposes of this document, the term "webmaster" refers to one or more Hardin-Jefferson employees assigned to perform tasks relating to school Web sites.

Types of Pages

For purposes of clarification, Hardin-Jefferson's Web sites shall be divided into five classifications as follows:
• Class I Official Pages are pages that represent the school as a whole and do not represent a campus or department. These pages are developed and
maintained by the District Webmaster, who is responsible for content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

• Class II Official Pages are sub-sites of the Hardin-Jefferson Web site that represent individual campuses. These pages are developed and maintained by
each campus individually and each campus is responsible for content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

• Class III Official Pages are professional pages for individual employees with content directly related to the staff member's official capacity at the school. These pages are developed and maintained by each employee individually or by the department, and each employee is responsible for content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

• Class IV Official Pages are official pages of registered student organizations recognized by the District. These pages are developed and maintained by each student organization and are subject to the authority of the District. Each organization is responsible for content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

• Class V Unofficial Pages are personal pages of staff or students that do not represent Hardin-Jefferson school district and are maintained by staff or students as individuals. Their respective owners are responsible for their content, timeliness and adherence to these policies.

Standards for all Sites

Contents of all electronic pages must be consistent with Hardin-Jefferson and District policies and all local, state and federal laws. This includes links or automatic refreshes to other pages or computers; therefore, a page may be considered in violation if it contains links or automatic refreshes to a page that violates the policy. Violations will result in corrective action as stipulated in the section of this document under “Consequences.”

All persons responsible for Web sites at Hardin-Jefferson, both content owners and web designers, should be familiar with district policies.

The following standards apply. All pages shall:

All pages are encouraged to:
(1) Effective February 24, 2009, unless an exception is approved by the superintendent, all new or redesigned Web pages/content shall comply with the following accessibility standards/specifications, where applicable:
         (C) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color.
performing a function can be discerned textually.
documented according to industry standards. Applications also shall not disrupt or disable activated features of any operating system that are identified as accessibility features
where the application programming interface for those accessibility features has been documented by the manufacturer of the operating system and is available to the product
developer.
image represents a program element, the information conveyed by the image must also be available in text.
throughout an application's performance.
text input caret location, and text attributes.
completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.
functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.

All pages shall not
• Use derogatory or libelous materials or materials that infringe on the rights of others.
• Use materials which violate policies or laws.
• Use confidential materials including records protected by the Family Educational Rights and Protection Act.
• Use materials that are abusive, profane, threatening or sexually offensive.
• Include advertisements for commercial products or enterprises.
• Use animations except where clearly linked to academic or intellectual content.
• Misrepresent the content of Hardin-Jefferson’s pages, or misinform users about the origin or ownership of Hardin-Jefferson’s Web site.
• Link outside Web site graphics or tables within Hardin-Jefferson Web pages.

Class I Official Hardin-Jefferson Home Page Guidelines

The Official Hardin-Jefferson Home Page, www.hjisd.net, supports the mission and purposes of the district by providing an online channel for distributing information about the district to the world. The page contains a wide range of information of interest to the public and to members of the Hardin-Jefferson community. It is designed and maintained by the Technology Department and all pages linked to it should serve as a means of advancing Hardin-Jefferson’s Mission and Core Values.

Examples of appropriate material for Class I pages:

• News and announcements
• FAQs
• District/campus calendars and events
• Information for prospective students
• Outreach to alumni and public
• Blogs for public interest topics

Class II Official Hardin-Jefferson Web Page Guidelines

All academic and administrative departments are encouraged to maintain pages. All Class II pages must link to the hjisd.net Web site. Principals shall have authority over Web sites within their administrative domains.

Design standards for Class II pages

• Must use an approved Hardin-Jefferson header.
• Must use left and/or top navigation.

Content Standards for Academic Department Sites: Department pages must include

• Departmental mission statement
• Student learning outcomes for each course
• Staff list with titles and highest degree earned and/or teaching certifications
• FAQs or "who to call for what" with contact information
• Contact information for the main office including mail, location, and phone number or e-mail

Other suggested content for Academic Department Sites:

• Office locations, contact information and off-period hours for individual staff
• Photos of staff
• Information on clubs and departmental activities
• Podcasts from classroom assignments

Class III Official Hardin-Jefferson Professional Web Page Guidelines

Official Hardin-Jefferson professional pages directly related to the individual staff members’ official capacity in the district may be linked to the Hardin-Jefferson Web site. Principals shall have authority over these Web sites.

Design standards for Class III pages:

• Must use an approved Hardin-Jefferson header.
• Must use left and/or top navigation.

Examples of appropriate material for Class III pages:

• Instructional materials including syllabi, lecture notes, tutorials, etc.
• Research interests
• Professional memberships, information and publications
• Photograph, resume or curriculum vita
• Off-period hours and contact information

Please note that advertisements for commercial products or enterprises are not appropriate.

Class IV Official Hardin-Jefferson Student Organization Web Page

Guidelines

Student organizations recognized by the district must maintain their official Web sites on a designated Hardin-Jefferson owned server. These sites may be linked to the www.hjisd.net Web site. The Technology Department shall have authority over these web sites. Pages must comply with general district standards as previously stated.

The following disclaimer must appear on all Hardin-Jefferson Student Organization Web sites on the entry page:


Design Standards for Class IV pages:

• Must use an approved Hardin-Jefferson header.
• Must use left and/or top navigation.

Examples of appropriate material for Class IV sites:

• Descriptions of the organization, its goals, officers, activities and meeting schedule
• Photographs of officers and activities
• Project descriptions
• Announcements
• Profiles of members
• A link to any affiliated national organization
• Calendar of activities
• Podcasts, Wikis and blogs

Class V Unofficial Home Page Guidelines

Unofficial Home pages are personal pages that are created and maintained by individual staff and students. Content of these pages may be unrelated to the individual’s professional role or duties at the school. The district expects and, in an effort to foster creativity and individuality, encourages unofficial Web pages. Such pages may be linked to www.hjisd.net. The individual is responsible for the design and content of the page, and for any confidential information he or she may post on the Web site. Permissionshould be obtained from the content owner for any use beyond fair use. Such materials may onlybe used in accordance with any limitations requested by the owner. General standards previously stated apply to these pages.

The following disclaimer must appear on all unofficial personal websites on the entry page:


Design standards for Class V Unofficial personal pages:

Pages may NOT use either a Hardin-Jefferson official header or footer.



• Original works of art and other graphics
• Information about hobbies, interests and pursuits
• Original writings
• Resumes and biographical materials
• Research results, data and/or discussion

Consequences

Notification
It is the responsibility of the Campus Web Monitor to regularly review pages on district servers to insure compliance with policies stated herein. If pages are found not to comply with guidelines as stated in this document or in other Hardin-Jefferson policy documents, the Campus Web Monitor or a designate will contact the owner of the account to request that changes be made to conform to these policies. The Campus Web Monitor will specify the time limit within which changes must be made. When the requested changes are complete, it is the responsibility of the account owner to notify the Web Monitor that such changes have been made. In the case of serious violations, the Campus Web Monitor may immediately disconnect a site and notify the appropriate administrator, the account owner and the Campus Web Advisory Committee.

Corrective Action

If compliance has not been achieved in the specified time period, the Campus Web Monitor will notify the responsible administrator (see below) and, with approval, take corrective action. Corrective action may include, but is not limited to, removal of links to offending page(s) and disconnection of the offending site. Further disciplinary actions may be taken by the administrator responsible:


All violations and actions taken will be reported to the Web Advisory Committee. In the event that a person or department repeatedly violates these policies, the Web Advisory Committee may refuse access to publish on campus servers.

Appellate Process

Any student or staff who feels that he or she has been wrongly accused of violating these policies may appeal the decision by filing a written appeal within five working days of notification to the Web Advisory Committee. Written requests to appear before the Web Advisory Committee must contain the following information:

• Name, telephone number, e-mail address, or other means of contact during business hours, URL of offending web page(s)
• Reason for appeal
• Signature

Please send appeal(s) to the administrative office as listed below:


District Superintendent
Re: WWW General Use Policy Appeal
P.O. Box 490
Sour Lake, Texas 77659


A hearing shall be scheduled with the Web Advisory Board and the accused party may present his or her argument. The Web Advisory Committee will make a written recommendation to the appropriate principal, who will then render a final decision.